Asphalt-paving apparatus



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. H. PERKINS.

ASPHALT PAVING APPARATUS.

N0. 476,814. Patented June 14,1892.

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SAA-A (No Model.) v 4 sheetssheet 2. A. H. PERKINS.

ASPHALT PAVING APPARATUS.

Patented June 14, 1892.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. H. PERKINS.

\ ASPHALT PAVING APPARATUS. No. 476,814. Patented ne 14, 1892.

(No Model.) 4Sheets--Sheet 4.

A. H. PERKINS.

ASPHALT PAVINGAPPARATUS. No. 476,814. Patented June 14, 1892.

ma noms Finns co., Pnofcmwo., wAsmNm'ou. n4 c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS I'I. PERKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORTO THE WESTERN PAVING AND SUPPLY COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

ASPHALT-PAVING APPARATUS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,814, dated June 14, 1892.

Application filed February 13, 1892. Serial No. 421,424. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that l, AMos H. PERKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago,county of Cook, and State of Illinois,`

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Asphalt-Paving Apparatus, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the preparation of the mixture of sand and asphalt, which is used for paving and similar purposes, it is necessary that the sand should not only be perfectly dry, so that the asphalt may adhere thereto, but that the temperature of the sand and asphalt should be uniform, for the reason that excessive temperature produces hardness and brittleness in the asphalt, and too low a temperature makes it impossible to properly incorporate the sand with the asphalt.

It is the purpose of the apparatus herein shown and described to provide for such a steady and uninterrupted carrying forward of the process as shall result in a uniform mixture of proper consistency.

It is a further purpose of the apparatus to economize in labor and to make the operation as nearly automatic as possible.

As it is necessary to move the apparatus from time to time, I have provided for making it portable as to all its machinery, so that it may be readily transferred and set up.

In the drawings, Figure l is plan showing the general arrangement of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, some of the apparatus, however, being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a detail on a larger scale showing the measuring-hopper and a part of the sand-receiving hopper. Fig. 3 shows the sand-receiving hopper as seen from the top. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of a part of the sand con- Veyer and drier. Fig. 5 is a view from above of a portion of the latter; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the car carrying the sand-drying drums, the outer shell protecting them being sectioned in order to show the interior.

2, Figs. 1 and 2, is a car-body, upon which are mounted, facing each other, two sanddriers 3 and 4, each sand-drier being provided with drums A and B, the., (eide Fig. 6,) of the ordinary inclined-cylinder type, whose positions correspond to that of their respective driving-shafts 5,' G, 7, and S. All four drums are driven by a single shaft 9, which receives its power from the engine 10 through the belt 11. The said engine is placed upon a car 12 adjacent to the car 2, upon which is also located the boiler 13, which supplies steam to the engine. The shaft 9 carries beveled pinions 14 and '15, which drive the shafts 7 and 8, respectively, and it also carries a sprocket and chain wheel 1G, the latter driving a chain 17, which transmits power to the shaft 13, and the latter shaft, by means of bevel-gearing, drives the second pair of drum-shafts 5 and 6. At the outer end of each drier is mounted a conveyer 19 and 20, respectively, which receives motion from the sand-drum and serves to deliver a regulated quantity of sand to each of the four drums.

Sand is supplied to the oonveyers through screens 21 and 22, situated at the lower ends of the conveyers, and passes through the openings 23 and 23 in the bottom of the conveyertrough, and passes thence through the drums and through the spouts 24,' 25, 2G, and 27 at their inner'ends, (shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1,) two of the spouts being also shown in elevation in Fig. 2. Thence it passes to a recepta'cle 2S, whence it is taken by a conveyer 29, Fig. 2, to a hopper 30. The latter is supported at an elevation upon a suitable framework, and has connected with it at its bottom a measuring-hopper 31. (Shown on a larger scale in Fig. 3.)

In order to provide for sufficient capacity without undue length and to insure the perfect filling of the measuring-hopper at each charge, the measuring-hopper isenlarged in diameter across the center and tapers gradually each way above and below. vided at its top and bottom openings with slides 32 and 33, respectively, and the slides are connected by a pivoted lever 34. The slides 32 and 33 are thus connected so as to move simultaneously, and each is provided with openings 35 36, so located that they coincide with the openings leading to and from the hopper, respectively, in alternation, one opening being closed before the other begins to open. Instead of having openings, the slides 32 and 33 may be made of such alength as to permit of their being withdrawn alter- It is prod IOO nately, their action being the same in either instance.

The bottom of the receptacle 2S, as shown in Figs. 3 and 3, is provided with a diaphragm 28, having near its margin holes 2S". The center of the diaphragm 2S is imperforate and the sand is taken from the outer part of the receptacle at several points. The temperature of the sand is thus kept Vmuch more uniform, as the interior of the mass being continually surrounded with fresh hot sand cannot lose its heat, and the outer portion,

whether the receptacle be full or nearly empty,

does not remain long enough to become materially cooled. in the heat of the sand, I provide for changing the speed of its passage through the in' clined drums in the manner indicated in Fig. 6, the drums being located, as before described, upon the platform of a car and im* pose a weight upon the center thereof quite sufficient to flex the timbers 4G, if unsupported. I utilize the truss-rod 47, running longitudinally under the car, to adjust the height of the center thereof by means of the turnbuckle 4S.

The drulns are so constructed that their inclination is suitable for the ordinary conditions of working when the truss-rod 47 is tightened to a moderate degree, as shown in full lines; butif the sand is passing too slowly through the drums and becomes more heated than is necessary or desirable the truss-rod may be slackened by uuscrewing the turnbuckle 48, and the tlexure of the car-body will allow the inner ends of the drums to settle sufficiently to increase the speed of the sand in passing through. By varying the degree of inclination the temperature of the sand can be more closely regulated than by any amount of care that may be used in regulating the heat under the drums. As the driving-gear and housing of the drums are all supported on the same platform, no derangement of their action arises from the movement of the drum.

Referring to Fig. 2, the mixing-machine, which may be of any approved kind, is seen located immediately below the dischargespout of the hopper 3l. It is driven by a shaft 38 upon the car which carries the sanddriers, a belt 39 making the connection between the mixer and the shaft. The asphaltmelting-tanks 40 (see also Fig. 1.) are located at one side of and immediately adjacent to the asphalt-mixer, and an overhead trolley 4l, running on a track extending over the melting tanks and carrying a ladle 42, conveys melted asphalt to the mixer. The latter is located at such a height as to permit the passage of a wagon or other vehicle beneath it. A measured quantity of asphalt and sand being introduced into the mixer and properly commingled may then be dumped from the mixer into the vehicle below. The conveyer 29 is most conveniently operated by a belt 43, which passes over pulley 44 at the top of the To further secure uniformity conveyer, and a small pulley 45 u pon the mixer at the end opposite belt 39.

By the construction and arrangement of apparatus herein described the amount of hand-labor employed is reduced to a minimum and the process is made practically continuous, the sand being automatically fed to and through the driers and stored in the reservoir by a regular and uninterrupted movement. Its temperature is thus made uniform and it is not subjected to irregular exposures to the atmosphere, as it is supplied in regular quantities almost instantaneously to the mixer. No time is given for it or the melted asphaltto cool before it is mixed and the resulting product is thus much more uniform in texture and more homogeneous than where hand-labor is depended upon for doing the work. A saving is also effected in the quantity of labor necessary for producing agiven output.

INhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

l. In an asphalt-mixing apparatus, the combination of sand-drying drums, a motor for driving the same, a conveyer receiving motion from said drums, adapted to supply sand thereto, a conveyer adapted to move the sand discharged therefrom and deliver it to a storagereceptacle, and a measuring-hopper located below and connected with said storage-receptacle and provided with slides to alternately open and close the inlet and discharge passages of said measuring-hopper, substantially as described.

2. An asphalt-mixing apparatus consisting of sand drying drums, a motor for driving the same, a conveyer receiving motion from said drums, adapted to supply sand thereto, a conveyer adapted to move the sand discharged therefrom and deliver it to a storage-receptacle, a measuring-hopper located below and connected with said storage-receptacle, a mixer below said measuring-hopper, a driving apparatus connecting said mixer with the motor driving the sand-drier, and means for supplying a measured quantity of asphalt to said mixer, all combined and operating substantially as described.

3. An asphalt-mixing apparatus consisting of sand-drying drums, a motor for driving the IXO same, a conveyer receiving motion from said the weight of the drums, and a truss-rod eX- tendingr across the unsupported part of said platform and provided with a turnbuekle, wherebyT the flexure of said platform may be varied to adj ust the inclination of said drums, substantially as and for the purpose described.

AMOS H. PERKINS. Witnesses:

IRWIN VEEDER, TODD MASON. 

